Squarespace Cuts 19%, 300 Jobs, Ahead of Forma AI Launch
TL;DR
- Squarespace is cutting roughly 300 employees, about 19% of its global workforce, in a restructuring the company frames as streamlining before its 'next phase of growth.'
- The company's statement does not blame AI, but the cuts land as it readies Forma, an 'AI-native' platform still on a waitlist, alongside its 2024 Blueprint tool.
- Permira took Squarespace private in 2024 in a roughly $6.6 to $7 billion deal, three years after its 2021 IPO at a $10 billion valuation.
Squarespace is cutting about 19% of its global workforce, roughly 300 employees, in a restructuring the company says is designed to "simplify how we operate" and "position Squarespace for its next phase of growth," TechCrunch reported on November 2. The statement, attributed to PR specialist Jeff Seedman, does not say AI drove the decision.
The cuts land as Squarespace stakes its own ground in AI website building. The company launched a tool called Blueprint in 2024 and is now taking signups for Forma, an "AI-native" platform that has not yet gone to general release. Rivals have been louder: Wix bought AI builder Base44 for $80 million in 2025, Lovable raised a $400 million Series C in August 2026 at a $13.3 billion valuation, and Google rolled out an AI UI design feature called Stitch.
Squarespace itself went private in 2024 in a roughly $6.6 to $7 billion deal with Permira, three years after a 2021 IPO at a $10 billion valuation. Our jobs tracker has logged 114 AI-labor stories in the past 90 days, including SUSE's roughly 10% cut, where management did explicitly blame automation and AI.
Originally reported by techcrunch.com
Read the original article →Original headline: Squarespace Cuts 19% of Staff, About 300 Jobs, as It Pivots Around AI 'Vibe-Coding' Site Builders